1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an external door handle for vehicles having a handle, arranged on the outer side of the door and being at least partially hollow, wherein the handle comprises at least one U-shaped shell whose U-space serves for receiving the electronic components, and wherein in the connected situation the U-shaped shell is spanned at the visible side by a C-shaped front strip and is anchored thereat.
2. Description of the Related Art
The known handle is provided with a hollow space for receiving electronic components. For this reason, the known handle was configured of two shells comprised of a C-shaped base shell and a C-shaped cover shell connected with the leg ends of the base shell. A disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the terminal snap-on connection of the shells does not provide a sufficient strength for the use as a door handle and that on the front side a contact seam is formed which is visually disruptive because at this visible location manufacturing tolerances that are present become particularly obvious. Moreover, this seam also provides the possibility that dirt can deposit on the front side and that moisture can penetrate into the interior space between the shells so that the components therein are impaired in their function. Also, the embedding of the electronic components in the upright inner shell by means of a synthetic resin is not a permanent solution because the resin will begin to creep over time.
It is an object of the invention to develop a reliable external door handle of the aforementioned kind which prevents the aforementioned disadvantages and generates an especially good and, if needed, detachable connection between the two shells. This is achieved according to the invention in that the two C-end sections of the front strip engage an additional circumferential area of the U-shaped shell from above or from below and in that the electronic components are encapsulated water-tightly in a carrier open at the top.
The invention however is also of special importance when the handle is comprised of two shells, i.e., a U-shaped base shell and a cover shell between which the hollow space is formed. In this case, the C-shaped front strip acts like a clamp which presses the cover shell against the U-shaped base shell. This clamp-like connection is provided in addition to the usually already present connections between the two shells. In the case of this clamp connection of the two shells the contact seam between the two shells at the visible side is covered in any case. Even though this contact seam is still present, the access of soil or moisture into the interior of the space between the shells is made significantly more difficult. A type of labyrinth course is present. The detachable connection, if needed, is provided as a result of the C-ends snapped into place in the grooves at the top and bottom sides.
A further advantageous configuration is comprised of a U-shaped base shell which in the direction of the front strip to be applied has a U-shaped opening. Into this U-opening the carrier with the electronic components is slipped with precise fit. The front strip snapped into place on the base shell covers in this connection with its front section the U-opening of the base shell with the carrier positioned therein.
The carrier can be embodied as a container of hard plastic material which is open at the top so that from here during manufacture of the handle the electronic device can be inserted into the container. In order to protect the electronic device against sliding and exposure to media (for example, water), it is encapsulated in this container, for example, with a soft plastic material. In this connection, the opening of the container at the top is an advantage because the open top side of the container is planar, and a uniform filling of the container with the potting compound can be realized accordingly.